


L'équilibre de la nature

by Lolanae



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Dark Magic, F/M, Gen, M/M, Natural magic, Who knows where this is going, let me know what you think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 14:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lolanae/pseuds/Lolanae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where magic used to be accepted, it's now vilified.  A group of friends have rallied together to help fight against the Inquisitors that hurt those with gifts, as well as other innocent people.  Enjolras leads the Les Amis de l'ABC against Javert and Montparnasse's Inquisitors.  The fight between both sides has caused damage to the land, as well as brought to light things once only seen in books.</p>
            </blockquote>





	L'équilibre de la nature

**Author's Note:**

> l'équilibre de la nature = The Balance of Nature
> 
> This was beta'd by [decourfeynated](http://decourfeynated.tumblr.com/). Thank you! (She is awesome!) All other mistakes are mine.
> 
> Please let me know what you think about this! If you have questions, leave them here, or find me on [tumblr](http://lolanae.tumblr.com/). This idea started out as a one shot, now it's sort of become it's own beast.

The pitch black night sky was dotted with stars, and the moon seemed to track the path of their escape. This was not the first encounter that they had had with the Inquisitors; yet, they were close to not escaping this time. Some of the group had already reached safety, thankfully. Grantaire, Enjolras, Jehan, Combeferre and Courfeyrac still ran with all their might to reach the boundary line between the kingdom and the forest. (No matter how brave they acted, the Inquisitors feared what lurked in the forest and rarely entered.) The five men could easily dispatch the Inquisitor archers chasing them, but Enjolras had a standing policy for no one to use their magic unless absolutely necessary. Every one of their group had a gift, a power, something that made them special, different, and hunted by Javert and his Inquisitors, whom sought to rid the land of magic. Enjolras fought tooth and nail against this, especially in light of some of Javert’s henchmen now using dark magic against innocent people.

Grantaire was in the rear of the group, his usual spot, as it let him keep an eye on everyone, especially Enjolras. They were about fifty feet from the boundary when Grantaire let out a painful scream and dropped to his knees. Enjolras spun on his heels to see the dark curly haired man fighting to stand up as an arrow had pierced his calf. A broken cry escaped Enjolras’ lips, “No!” 

As he started to run back to save his fallen comrade, a barely visible version of Grantaire appeared before the four men. “Combeferre, don’t let me come for me. He is more important to this than I am. Get him out of here.” Combeferre and Courfeyrac were already holding an ever fighting Enjolras in their arms.

“NO,” the blond leader yelled at flickering image of Grantaire.

“Enjolras, I love you. Now run!” The image faded.

Jehan added his strength to try to hold Enjolras steady and remove him from the field. “Enjolras, they will kill you both. Grantaire can get out of this. We need to run.” He went to touch Enjolras’ face to wipe away a tear that was now itching down his cheek bones, but the blond jerked away from the touch.

“Don’t you dare use your magic on me right now, Prouvaire,” Enjolras scowled, his blue eyes flashing to ice cold in a heartbeat.

“Enjolras, we need to go!” Courfeyrac shouted.

Enjolras refused to look away from Grantaire, who was still on his knees with five bows at his back, nocked and drawn - aimed at his heart. An arrow was released, and it hit Grantaire’s shoulder with such force that it flung him forward into the ground. Enjolras’ shriek broke the silence that followed. The flickering form of Grantaire appeared again, “Courfeyrac, port him out of here, now!” 

Enjolras glared at the form, “You aren’t dying for me.”

“No one said anything about dying, Apollo. Now go! Please.” In between flickers, tears appeared on Grantaire’s cheeks. “Enjol-“

He didn’t finish the statement. The flickering image vanished, as the real Grantaire let out a blood curdling scream. Enjolras and the three men holding him back with all their might, saw a dark haired man standing in front of the archers. He wore dark red leather armor and a sinister smirk they all feared. His hand was holding Grantaire magically up in the air, as if he were a puppet with invisible strings. “Now, my dear, which one are you?” The man taunted.

Grantaire chuckled, “I thought you knew everything, Montparnasse.” 

Enjolras pleaded with his companions to let him go. “He’ll kill him.”

“He’ll kill us all, Enjolras. We can’t fight him.” Combeferre said, still having to use all of his strength to hold Enjolras there.

What happened in the next few moments was nothing anyone in that field had ever witnessed, and only a few, like Jehan and Combeferre, had read about it in ancient tomes. Montparnasse released the magical grasp on Grantaire, who fell to the ground with a thud. “You know, I’ve wanted to get my hands on you for a very, very long time. Mainly because you are Enjolras’ weakness. The keystone to breaking him, as he is the same for you. It’s a rather interesting dynamic, given the magic you two possess.”

“If you are going to kill me, just do it.” Grantaire spit out the blood he had been holding in his mouth. His brain felt like it was on fire as thoughts of Enjolras danced around his head when Montparnasse mentioned his name. 

“You won’t die that easily.” He waved his hand for the archers to lower their bows. “Your precious Apollo is watching. Why would I miss the chance to torture both of you?”

Grantaire closed his eyes for a split second. The flickering version appeared before Enjolras again, “Please go. Don’t watch this. Run, Please.” He briefly kissed Enjolras’ lips. 

Enjolras cried out at the same time as Grantaire. Montparnasse has his hand outstretched in front of him, and Grantaire writhed, as if he was on fire or being electrocuted. Grantaire was using all of his strength to stay on his knees during the assault. Enjolras could see the pain etched across his face in the moonlight that illuminated the scene. He could also see the blood from the wound on Grantaire’s chest discoloring his green tunic. For as long as he could remember, he and Grantaire had done this dance around each other - testing one another. They were opposites, in every way you could be in their time, even down to their abilities. Enjolras knew Grantaire was sacrificing himself to save him and the others. Enjolras was growing weak against the combined power of his three friends. “I can’t let him do this.” He sobbed.

“You know what? After you die, I shall slowly rip your friends apart. I’ll leave him,” Montparnasse pointed to Enjolras, “for last so that he’ll see the folly of his revolution he suckered you all into.” Grantaire felt his torturer against his back, “Or maybe, I’ll keep you alive and force you two to kill each other. I can be very persuasive.” 

“No.” Grantaire’s jaw clenched tightly. His worst fear was coming to light, and if he didn’t do something, they would all die in this field tonight. 

“What did you say to me?” Montparnasse cocked a sinister grin.

“No.” Grantaire pushed himself to his feet and turned around. “You won’t live to do that.” Closing his eyes, Grantaire took a deep breath as swirls of sparkling blue water began to appear around him. He thought of Enjolras – the unfaltering love he had for that man despite their differences. He thought of his friends – who supported him no matter what. He thought of Eponine, Cosette and Gavroche – who would not be able to survive an attack from Montparnasse. If he had to give his life to save them all, the choice was easy. Their lives were worth more than his. As his mind traced over all the love and friendship that he had grown to know, the swirling water around him amplified, growing and intensifying. 

Grantaire’s eyes flicked open. They were now completely a mix of swirling blues and greens like an ocean mid storm. “You aren’t going to hurt them.”

Enjolras, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, and Jehan all gasped at the sight. “He can’t do this.” Enjolras managed to utter through clenched teeth. His heart started to race even faster than it was. Grantaire’s confession that he loved him echoed in his ears. The skeptical cynic was deciding to die for the cause. For Enjolras. For love. Enjolras’ body started to burn. Jehan was the first to feel the change in Enjolras’ emotions. 

“You can’t hurt me, mage,” Montparnasse chuckled.

“Yes, I can.” Grantaire yelled, sending all of the water that had swirled around him towards Montparnasse.

With the flick of a hand, he sent the streams of water back at Grantaire, stronger than they were before. Grantaire screamed and choked as the water slammed into him, incasing him in a pillar of the suffocating, sparkling blue fluid.

“Let Enjolras go,” Jehan ordered. It was in a voice he rarely used, as it was very outside his normally calm demeanor. 

“We can’t, Jehan.” Combeferre was exhausted.

“Trust me, look at him. Let him go!” Jehan ordered.

Combeferre and Courfeyrac looked at Enjolras. His eyes were closed, and he had stopped struggling. Enjolras’ skin began to glow was sparks of flame circled him. He opened his eyes and turned to his friends. “I have to,” was all he managed to whisper before he flicked away, his blue eyes replaced with nothing but swirling, golden flames.

“By the Gods…” Combeferre uttered. “They can’t be…”

“I don’t know,” Jehan answered the question that went unsaid. He grabbed Courfeyrac and Combeferre by the hands, so they could make a quick escape. For now they stood looking upon this scene with shocked eyes.

Enjolras reappeared in front of Grantaire, and the surprise jolted Montparnasse just enough to release his magical hold on the water and Grantaire. “You really are an idiot, Enjolras,” Montparnasse sneered as he raised a hand to continue the onslaught.  
Grantaire looked at Enjolras, his face etched with sadness, “I told you to run.” 

Enjolras turned to him, his eyes flashing back to their warm blue for a moment, “I can’t leave you.” He took Grantaire’s hands in his own, and Grantaire leaned into him slightly for support. “You aren’t dying for me.”

“He’ll kill us both, Enjolras. We’ll kill each other with our magic.” Grantaire cried, knowing just how powerful they both were.

Enjolras hugged him tightly, “Then so be it.” The flame and water dancing around them both - engulfing and shielding them from Montparnasse’s onslaught. Their friends looked on in a mix of horror and amazement. Everything that was happening should not be possible. Fire and Water were opposites. They canceled each other out. They killed each other. The group had long joked that was why Enjolras and Grantaire fought so much. 

“I love you, Grantaire,” Enjolras whispered.

Grantaire’s heart began to race. The warmth of the confession and Enjolras’ flames began to nip at his body and skin. The pain he thought would come, never came. Montparnasse’s attacks did nothing against the shield that now encased them. “I love you, too.” Grantaire kissed Enjolras’ neck gently, as he wrapped his arms even tighter around him.

They heard Montparnasse call for the archers to draw and fire. An arrow pierced the magical shield, finding a home in Enjolras’ shoulder. His scream was loud in Grantaire’s ear, but neither man let go of the other. The only visible reaction to the attack was the swirls of water and fire growing larger, creeping outward towards the Inquisitors and Montparnasse. No one had seen anything like this - ever. Everyone stood there, watching, waiting, wondering what was going to happen.

Enjolras and Grantaire’s grip on each other never faltered, if anything, it grew tighter. Both of them could feel the surge of power, magic, heat from the flames, coolness from the water, love, everything. They knew what the other was thinking and feeling, and both of them were trying to desperately reign in their emotions; which fueled the maelstrom of magic that was engulfing them. With piercing screams drenched heavily in a release of pain, both men screamed as the swirls of water and fire exploded into sparks of orange and droplets of glistening blue. The explosion knocked everyone back, even Jehan, Combeferre and Courfeyrac. Jehan could sense his friends want to run towards the explosion – oh, how he did as well – but he took that split second to grab hold of them both. The three men vanished in a plume of green smoke.

Montparnasse coughed as he regained consciousness. He looked up to see that Grantaire and Enjolras had vanished. The archers looked panicked, and then looked towards Montparnasse for some clue as to what they just witnessed. His only reply, “Send word to Javert. We have a bigger problem than a handful of rebellious mages.”


End file.
